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Blue Mountain keeps Raiders stuck at 999 wins

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The Eagles' transition game and fast-paced offense was stuck in low gear, while a key starter spent half the game on the bench in foul trouble.

The results, however, were typical of the way the season has gone.

Shane Grapsy scored a season-high 16 points, while Will Bornstein overcame foul trouble to finish with 13 in Blue Mountain's hard-fought, 51-42 victory over Tamaqua in a Schuylkill League Division I contest Tuesday evening.

Peter Harding added eight points, Grapsy collected eight rebounds, Bornstein dished out five assists and Kyle Slane tallied seven points and four steals for Blue Mountain (12-3, 7-1 D-I), which won its fifth consecutive game. The Eagles used an 8-1 run over the final 4:40 of the third quarter to go up by 7, then were able to hold off the Raiders (9-6, 4-4 D-I) down the stretch.

The victory also allowed Blue Mountain to remain a half-game behind Pottsville (12-4, 7-0 D-I) for first place in the division after the Crimson Tide downed Pine Grove 71-37 on Monday.

"It's great win," Eagles coach Dustin Werdt said. "Anytime you come to Tamaqua, it is a tough place to play. They play well here. They've beaten some good teams on this floor, so it is good to get out of here with a win."

Brett Kosciolek had a game-high 22 points for Tamaqua, along with seven rebounds and two blocks. The Raiders have now gone 3-5 in their past eight games, but Tuesday's performance was a marked improvement from the first meeting between the two Dec. 20, an easy Blue Mountain 71-47 victory.

Thanks to a match-up zone defense, Tamaqua held the Eagles to 10 points below their season average on offense and pretty much shut down Blue Mountain's transition game.

The Raiders were also able to overcome a slow start after the Eagles opened the game on a 9-0 run.

"Our effort tonight was as good as I could ask for," Tamaqua coach Casie Kosciolek said. "Our intensity level, our concentration was what we hoped to do every single night. I am not into moral victories, but I told the kids I loved their fight. I really thought they got after it and they responded to Blue Mountain's intensity."

Down 25-20 at the half, Tamaqua tied the game twice in the third quarter, the final time on a 3-pointer by Bo Rottet - who added nine points in the game before fouling out - from the top of the circle with 4:40 to go.

Over the rest of the quarter, however, the Raiders went 0-for-4 from the floor, including a missed layup after a steal, and turned the ball over four times.

The Eagles slowed pulled away, responding with an 8-1 run. Slane hit a 10-foot, pull-up jumper, Cody Coller scored on a turnaround baseline jumper and Grapsy scored on a coast-to-coast layup after grabbing a rebound.

Blue Mountain's final bucket of the quarter came when Slane spotted Grapsy wide open inside for a layup with 3.7 seconds left, making it 38-31.

Tamaqua pulled to within 4 twice in the fourth quarter, the final on a turnaround jumper by Kosciolek with Coller in his face with 4:45 remaining. The Raiders got no closer.

"The kids made some plays and hit some shots," Werdt said of the third-quarter run.

Coller also keyed the Eagles' defensive effort. After Kosciolek scored 16 in the first half, including all 11 Tamaqua points in the second quarter, Werdt matched Coller up on Kosciolek. He ended up scoring just six over the final 16 minutes.

"Cody is not typically used to guarding somebody who goes out on the perimeter," Werdt said. "He (Kosciolek) hit a 3 right off the bat to start the half. After that, Cody did a great job on him and that was a major reason we pulled the win out."

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